Ince boosts junior lawyer pay by over a quarter to £90k

Offers associates cut of new business in rewards shake-up

Ince has upped the salaries of its London newly qualified (NQ) lawyers by over a quarter.

Salaries for fresh faced associates have moved from £71,000 to £90,000 with immediate effect, the outfit confirmed. This equates to a very sizeable uplift of £19,000 or 27%.

Ince confirmed increases have also taken place across all other associate salary bands.

The firm has rolled out a new “introducer bonus” which sees associates who attract new clients through its doors receive a 10% slice of the fees on each matter relating to that new client. This is on top of the firm’s existing discretionary and hours-based rewards.

The Legal Cheek 2022 Firms Most List shows the cash injection puts Ince’s London lot on par with those at Ashurst and Baker McKenzie, and £2k better off than NQs at DLA Piper and Simmons & Simmons.

A spokesperson for the firm said: “Ince can confirm that it will be raising starting salaries for newly qualified lawyers as well as introducing a new financial incentive to reward associates who bring in new clients. The increase comes into immediate effect for all Ince’s fee earners in London, and will follow for those in the other UK offices in the coming months.”

They added:

“The revisions reflect the current market dynamic to increase starting salaries. Ince remains committed to attracting and retaining world class talent, both through competitive remuneration and offering compelling career progression opportunities.”

The war to attract and retain the best junior lawyer talent is showing no signs of waning.

Last week Herbert Smith Freehills joined the battle with a new and improved NQ base rate of £105,000, just a day after Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner and Mishcon de Reya bumped junior salaries to £95,000 and £83,000, respectively.